Payday Loans

Payday loans, sometimes called "a payday advance, salary loan, payroll loan, small dollar loan, short term, or cash advance loan") are small dollar amount ($500 or less), high interest rate/high cost loans made typically to people without significant financial resources. Most payday loans are tied to a borrower's payroll and employment records. These tend to be very unfair loans, as evidenced by the fact that the terms for these loans are carefully controlled in most jurisdictions.

Payday loans are the result of financial institution growth and influence over the political system and their ability to control regulators. They tend to be uniformly bad. Still, the market for short term "emergency" lending has grown dramaitcally since the 1990's.

The basic payday lending process involves a provider granting a short-term (7 to 30 day) loan that is not backed by collateral or security. The arrangement typically invloves an agreement by the borrower to repay the loan on or before the borrower's next payday. Some, but not all, payday lenders require verification of employment or income (via pay stubs and bank statements).

Payday Loan Benefits

  • Little to no documentation.
  • The entire lending process may take as little as 15 minutes, and you may be able to get the money you need on-the-spot.

As of June, 2019, "payday loans are legal in 27 states, and 9 others allows some form of short term storefront lending with restrictions. The remaining 14 and the District of Columbia forbid the practice." States where payday lending is legal include: Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia (requires loans to be payable in two pay cycles; however, lenders evade protections in Virginia by structuring loans as unregulated open-end lines of credit. As we noted above, these lenders have control of the financial institution regulatory system and process, to the detriment to the public), Washington (limits borrowers to eight payday loans per year), Wisconsin, and Wyoming. If you have questions, please call us or call (855) 411-2372.

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Features of Payday Loans

Money tends to be received quickly. While this is a benefit in emergency situations, the speed with which funds are disbursed has the disadvantage of encouraging borrowers to agree to terms that they would, with more time, not accept.

Most payday loans are used to cover normal living expenses. Many borrowers are white, female and young. African Americans, poor people and people without a college degree make up most payday borrowers.

Faster Loans

For funding emergency expenses, payday loans may be helpful, as long as borrowers do not become overly dependent (recurring borrowing that makes borrowers less likely to find alternative, cheaper solutions to their financial problems. These solutions may include finding better, higher paying employment.

Inflexible Dollar Amounts

While borrowers seem to get to determine the amount they borrow, fees and rates should be included in the total amount borrowed. In many cases, charges are not communicated up front in writing along with the loan quotation.

Payday Loan Rates

Payday loan rates can hit 700%. According to CNBC, "the national average annual percentage rate on payday loans is almost 400 percent." for comparison purposes, the average credit card Annual Percentage Rate (APR) in May, 2022, was 14.56 percent.

Deciding your term (how long you take out the loan for.)

One of the problems with payday loans is that borrowers often take out a second payday loan in order to pay the first one. This creates a "debt trap." Rolling over a loan by paying just the finance charge or paying off a payday loan and immediately take out a new one adds to charges and limits the borrowers ability to find alternative sources of financing.

Eligibility Criteria for Payday Loans

According to Paydayloaninfo.org, "all a consumer needs to get a payday loan is an open bank account in relatively good standing, a steady source of income, and identification. Lenders do not conduct a full credit check or ask questions to determine if a borrower can afford to repay the loan." This, of course, should be a sign of the fradulent nature of this type of lending.

Keep in mind that payday loans are made based on the payday lender’s ability to collect. This means payday lenders have every incentive to resort to extreme tactics (garnishment, or taking to money directly out of your paycheck), and other tactics to make sure they get their money back. Given their influence over the political and legislative process, there are few consumer protections against these types of tactics. The loan is not based on the borrower’s ability to repay while meeting other financial obligations. This is how payday loans create a debt trap.

Age

Minimum age of applicant at loan maturity: 18 years

Income

Minimum Net Monthly Income: $ 15,000

Credit Rating

Applicants tend not to need a bank specified credit score. Use Experiean (www.experian.com) or NAV (www.nav.com/) to check your rating.

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Documentation

The following documents are required along with your Payday Loan application:

  • Government issued photo ID.
  • Valid Social Security Number
  • Most recent proof of income (check stub, award letter or direct deposit).
  • Depending on state, a check may be required.

Fees and charges

Below are fees and charges that you may be required to pay:

  • Types of fees

    Charges applicable

  • Rate of interest
    Average (Texas) 664%
  • Processing fees
    Many state laws set a maximum amount for payday loan fees ranging from $10 to $30 for every $100 borrowed.
  • Loan statement charges
    This will vary depending on the lender.
  • Interest & principle statement charges
    This will vary depending on the lender.
  • Late Payment charges
    Fees vary depending on the amount of the loan and state regulations. If allowed, these will be very high.
  • Secure fee
    N/A

Tax and other Government taxes, levies etc. applicable as per prevailing rate will be charged over and above the Fees and Charges

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Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions answered may be covered below.

"Payday loans are short-term loans that are typically due on your next payday. Timing depends on your pay schedule."

Best Practices of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), (a payday lending trade and lobbying group) and state laws govern rescission, your ability to rescind (reverse) the payday transaction. There may be no cost within a certain time period. In most cases, you must return the full amount of the payday loan. Contact your payday lender to see which specific rescission policies apply to you.

Consider a payday alternative loan (PAL), a loan backed by the United States federal government, available through chartered National Credit Union Association (NCUA) members. Find a credit union at https://www.mycreditunion.gov/about-credit-unions/credit-union-locator

  • Loan amounts between $200 and $1,000.
  • Payback terms ranging from one to six months.
  • Processing fees up to $20.
  • Lower interest rates of up to 28%.
  • In order to qualify for a PAL, borrowers must be members of a federal credit union for at least one month.

All over. See: https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=f1420 for information on some of the top names in the industry.

Download Payday Loan Forms

We have included links to some of the payday loan sites and forms.

Below, we have included links to State of California information on payday lenders, links to a few payday lender websites (we are not endorsing these lenders, however), as well as links to the NCUA payday lending alternative PAL program.

More on Payday loans

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